oestrus
/ˈiːstɹəs/ noun
Forms oestruses oestri œstrus estrus
- noun (countable) A biting fly of the genus Oestrus; a botfly.
- noun (countable) A bite or sting.
- noun (countable, archaic) A passion or frenzy.
- noun (countable and uncountable, biology) A female animal's readiness to mate.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin oestrus (“gadfly, sting, frenzy”), from Ancient Greek οἶστρος (oîstros), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eys-, used to form words denoting passion; see also Latin īra (“anger”), Lithuanian aistra (“violent passion”), Avestan 𐬀𐬈𐬯𐬨𐬀 (aesma, “anger”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “oestrus”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details